Recettear: Fatherly Tendencies
by Kiran-sama
Summary: Confusion was plentiful indeed when Griff, the demon sworn to his hatred against mankind, was seen with a human infant in his possession! He is still adamant his hatred for humankind burns brightly, but will raising a human child give him a new outlook on the world of man? With the help of Recette and her friends, raising the child sure will be an adventure! (T for future content)


_Author's Note:_

_There are no words to express how much I love Griff. No words. At all._

_The inspiration for this fic comes actually from a scene in the game, for those of you who haven't actually _seen_ this scene yet, it's the one where Recette comments on how Griff has some "Fatherly tendencies" when he notes how spineless humans can be and she relates this to something her own father used to say. This immediately got my fanfiction-oriented mind in a whir, and so, here we are. _

_Please enjoy, please review. Thank you kindly, my lovelies ^^_

**xxx**

**CHAPTER ONE**

The day Griff the demon was seen toting around a human infant was a strange day indeed for the citizens of Pensee. Strange evening, rather. Now, although it was a large city, gossip spread quicker than wildfire. The observation that the dark, scary man was carrying around a _baby_ was no exception.

Recette Lemongrass first heard the news via unintentional eavesdropping on some customers in her store. She immediately called for Tear after said customers had departed.

"Tear! Ohmigosh, Tear! Teeeeaaar!" The young brunette dashed around the counter she had been sitting at and rushed over to where her fairy companion hovered by the window, almost tripping over her own two feet.

The bespectacled fairy turned to regard Recette, wondering what she could possibly be so worked up about this time. "Yes? What is it, Recette?"

After taking a moment to catch her breath, panting as though she'd just run a marathon, Recette exclaimed, "Griff's got a baby, Tear!"

The fairy blinked and raised one eyebrow inquisitively. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"I heard these ladies talking in the store and they said that this talk dark creeper guy was carryin' around a little baby an' I thought that they might be talkin' about Griff, since he's all tall and dark and creepy looki-"

Suddenly, Tear laughed, adjusting her glasses that reflected the orange light of the setting sun. "That sounds preposterous, Recette. Griff despises humans, therefore the odds that he is, in fact, in possession of a human infant are very slim." She sighed, then added, "Don't be foolish, Recette. Use some common sense."

Recette huffed indignantly. "Hey! I _do_ use common sense! Teeeaaaar!" she argued in defense while Tear giggled at the spectacle.

Suddenly, the door to the shop burst open, and in flew Louie, looking not unlike Recette had a minute or so before, as though he'd just run really, really far. "Recette! Have you seen it yet?" he asked, voice brimming with urgency.

The girl turned from Tear, her head tilted obliviously to one side. "Oh hiya Louie! Have I seen what yet?" Meanwhile, the fairy behind her pinched her nose and sighed in exasperation.

"I just saw Griff! And he had a... a baby with him! It was so weird!" Louie announced, sounding just as awestruck by the very idea of Griff, the dark demon, with a baby as Recette had.

"...huh?" was Recette's initial response. Then, her eyes immediately widened as everything clicked together in her head. She whirled around to face Tear again. "SEE? I told you, Tear! I _told _you Griff had a baby! But you didn't believe me!" The silver-haired fairy sighed again.

Satisfied she'd proved her point, the girl turned back to Louie to continue discussing this most out of the ordinary happening. "How do you think he got a baby, anyway?"

The brunette boy shrugged. "Beats me. I have no idea who in their right mind'd let _that _guy come _near_ their child, much less _babysit._"

Recette gasped, and her features darkened with a suspicious theory. "You don't think he _kidnapped_ that baby, do you?"

Tear clicked her tongue, preparing to put an end to this conversation before Louie could respond. "Now that's quite enough of this meaningless gossip."

Both humans turned to regarde Tear, neither wanting their 'deep conversation' to be spoiled. "But Teeeaaar..." Recette began, voice saturated with dismay.

"No 'but's," she chided the two. "Griff's business is his own. You two must respect that."

"Awww..." Recette's whined. Then, she perked up cheerfully all of a sudden. "I wonder if it's a boy or a girl... I bet it's a girl!" she concluded as though Tear hadn't said anything at all.

Louie immediately joined in. "A hundred pix says it's a boy!"

Recette was about to object when a masculine voice interrupted, followed by the sound of the shop's door closing. "The child is female."

The two humans present gasped and whirled around to face the door, while Tear simply adjusted her glasses. Standing in front of the closed door was none other than Griff, small bundle held in one arm, swathed in a blanket. The room seemed to grow colder at his appearance.

"Griff!" Recette exclaimed. "You _do_ have a baby!"

He nodded, saying nothing. This was probably the best course of action, as Recette was already asking away the questions she'd previously kept to herself.

"Where'd you get her? What's her name? Who's her mama? Who's her papa? Are _you_ her papa? Did you kidnap her-"

Griff cut her off, obviously annoyed, though more by the last question than by anything else. "I will tell you if it will help stave off your bothersome interrogations," he muttered darkly, and Recette brightened, satisfied that she would get to hear the story. Louie too, although he'd said nothing, took a seat on one of the counters and leaned forward, and Tear was much too curious herself to berate him for it. All three were tuned into Griff's story about how he had came to acquire the infant. Griff himself, as he told the story, recapped on what exactly had happened...

**xxx**

_It had been the day before, a dark, rainy day. The far outskirts of Pensee, in particular, reeked with gloom. The outskirts were known to be the slums of the large, generally prosperous city, home to those who didn't have one (save for adventurers with actual clients). The demonic man was not sure how he had come across that place, or why he remained there, but for whatever reason, he did. _

_He walked through the dark, muddy streets, if one could even call those mud trails streets, at a leisurely sort of pace, taking in the poverty-riddled surroundings. He'd never been in such a wretched place. It was filthy, even for the human world. Even so, he was fascinated. It made him think about just how heartless those damned humans really were, to allow their own kind to starve and die on the edges of their own cities. Despicable, indeed, yet fascinating to him. He was interested in observing how the humans afflicted with destitution lived as opposed to those who inhabited the actual city itself. And so, he continued through the dilapidated penury._

_After some time, he came to a place where even the pseudo-road seemed to end, and the shelters of the paupers abruptly ceased as well. There were a few scattered trees further along that led into a full-fledged forest. Not feeling up to halting his stroll, Griff decided to carry on into the dark woods, planning to eventually make his way back to his own temporary housing that he'd set up while he'd resided in the human world, which happened to be in the forest._

_After a minute or so of walking he was completely surrounded by trees, having been enveloped in the body of the deep woods. He had altered his course slightly to direct himself towards his abode, something caught his eye. It was a small bundle, resting by a large root. Griff took a small detour to get a closer look. His red eyes widened with surprise upon seeing the face of a tiny human baby. Its eyes were closed, it was not moving, and it looked abnormally pale, even in the dark lighting of the late evening. Griff scowled in disgust. Was it common for the humans to abandon their children in the woods in the middle of thunderstorms to die? He would not have been surprised had it been so. _

_Unconsciously, Griff knelt beside the infant and extended the back of a finger up to its tiny, tiny nose. He felt a small, _very_ small exhale from the infant. Realizing it was still alive surprised him even more. Its tiny heart was still beating, though its life was rapidly fading away, he could tell. It would not be alive for much longer if he were to stand up and walk away. _

_And so, Griff realized that the life of the infantile human was in his hands. _

_Should he leave it, it would die out here in the cold, without ever having experienced life._

_But, should he save it..._

_And, for the second time in his life, Griff was conflicted about killing a human. _

_He wondered if letting the child live would be a blessing or a curse. The world of humans was wicked, foul, not a thing within it to love... But did he have the right to stop this child from experiencing this? One side of him told him that he did. He'd taken many lives in his time, what was one more? But another side of him bade him to save this infant from its otherwise implacable fate. The demon growled to himself. Before, the decision would've taken no time of his at all. In fact, he wouldn't have been kneeling by this child in the first place before. But maybe that human girl child, Recette, had been correct about this world growing on him... at least a little. For here he was, deciding, basically, whether or not to kill this child._

_With a shock, he realized that the child was dying even faster than he'd predicted. In that moment, his decision had been made. Griff scooped up the child, as carefully as he dared, and briskly strode off into the darkness. _

**xxx**

As he recounted his tale (leaving out his own musings, of course), the three others listened with rapt attention. When he finished, there was a deafening silence in the room as Tear, Recette, and Louie took it all in. At last, the silence was broken by Recette.

"Hey Griff..." she began quietly. He grunted, waiting for her to go on. Recette tilted her head to one side. "There's an orphanage in town, you know... Why didn't you just take her there, instead of deciding to keep her?"

The demon narrowed his eyes, remaining silent for a long moment. The three were both perplexed and surprised when a slight blush began to show on his face. At last, Griff sighed deeply and answered, voice laced with irritation and something more. "It... it was far away. I would've had to have gone out of my way to get there. That's all."

But Recette wasn't done. "You could've taken her there toda-"

Before Tear could hush Recette and stop her from doing any more damage, Griff responded with evident anger. "As though I would entrust a child left to die by filthy humans to more filthy humans, ignorant girl!" he exclaimed vehemently. Despite this, Recette smiled. She knew firsthand that there was more to Griff than the whole 'heartless demon bent on the destruction of mankind' front he put up. And this was only more evidence to support that conclusion. If there was one thing Recette could do, it was understand people.

Louie hastily interjected, fearing that Recette would pursue the topic further. "So, Griff. What're you gonna name her?"

The tanned demon raised an eyebrow. "Name...?"

Recette took this opportunity to cut in again. "Yes, silly! Every kid needs a name! Like Recette! Or Tear! Or Louie!"

Griff looked down at the bundle he carried and muttered, "I suppose that is true... It will make things more convenient for the future. Very well."

Tear spoke this time. "So, what shall it be?"

There was a silence in the room as four brains worked to think of a name suitable for a girl. Recette was the first to come up with one she deemed favorable. "You should name her Cherry! Like the fruit! The yummy, yummy fruit!"

Griff sighed. "That is ridiculous..."

But Recette was not discouraged. For a while, the four engaged in a back-and-forth of possible names, although they were all deemed to be unacceptable by Griff. Finally, after the twentieth name or so, he sighed irritably. "This is a waste of time. I shall think of one myself," he concluded. And with that, he turned and left the store without a word of farewell, such was his style.

Once the demon had left, Louie murmured wistfully, "Well, never thought I'd see the day... Whaddya think of that, Recette?" he asked, turning to the girl. "Griff actually _adopted_ a _human _kid."

Recette giggled. "I think it's cute!" she exclaimed. "I bet Griff'll make a great papa for lil' Cherry! I have faith in him!"

Tear sighed and massaged a temple. "Merde... Are you sure about that? I mean, honestly... he does have rather prominent shortcomings... I wouldn't exactly peg him as 'parent material'..."

Recette placed her hands on her hips. "I think he'll be a great parent!" Suddenly, her brown eyes gained a fierce determination. "But he'll need a lot of direction, so let's promise to give him our support, okay?" At the two curt nods she received, Recette was satisfied, and she smiled again. "It's gonna be like havin' a little sister around, right?"

Tear couldn't hold back a small laugh. "Let us hope it won't get too frustrating."

**xxx**

In a small cottage, deep in the woods nearby Pensee, Griff sat in a chair in his living room, watching as the small child crawled about on the carpeted floor, amusing herself by exploring the room. Safely, of course. Griff's red eyes never once left the infant. The infant he had yet to name...

He sighed and rose, halting to pick the nameless child up off of the floor and carry her to another room, his bedroom, and placed her in a basket that he'd lined with a few small blankets, a makeshift crib. She made a small sound and reached up before he pulled away and seized a fistfull of his dark hair. Rather than showing irritation, the demon disguised his minute laugh with a sigh and gently removed her small fist from his hair. Having already been fed that evening, the young child was closer to sleep than she, with her underdeveloped brain, had realized. And so, once she'd been covered in a blanket, she was out in a matter of minutes.

Griff stood by the child's side for what could've been anything from a few minutes to an hour. He wasn't keeping track. All he was doing was gazing down at the baby, deep in thought. If any of his old demon acquaintances could've seen him then, he knew they would have been disgusted. And strangely, Griff found himself not caring at all. Maybe this world was, actually, in its own gradual, discreet way, growing on him.


End file.
